And when they began to sing and praise: New Century Version says “As they began to sing and praise God,” and New American Bible has “At the moment they began their jubilant hymn.”

The LORD set an ambush …: Jewish Publication Version attempts to provide a more literal rendering by saying “the LORD set liers-in-wait….” The idea is most likely that the LORD caused people living in that area to attack the enemies of Judah from various places of hiding, so New International Version and New Century Version use the plural word “ambushes.” Some interpreters understand the meaning of the Hebrew verb rendered ambush in light of an Arabic verb that means “to be cunning” or “to deceive.” This is the basis for the Revised English Bible rendering “the LORD misled,” which we do not recommend.

Against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah: See the comments on verses 1 and 10. As in verse 10, the men (literally “the children/sons”) may be rendered “the armies” (New Living Translation) or “the soldiers.” Rather than repeat the names of the countries mentioned in verse 10, Good News Translation simply says “the invading armies,” with no difference in meaning.

So that they were routed: This passive expression will have to be made active in some languages. The agent is probably Yahweh and not the army of Judah under the leadership of King Jehoshaphat. As the following verse shows, the enemies of Judah ended up fighting each other. An alternative model for this clause is “and he [the LORD] defeated them.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .